>> i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> as they should be, republicans are ecstatic over their victory in wisconsin where republican governor scott walker empress ofly survived a recall vote. democrats are on the defensive and president obama is taking heat for not going wisconsin to help his fellow democrats. what does all of this mean for november? let's go live to dana bash. she's in milwaukee right now and working on the fallout. dana, there's a lot of fallout. >> reporter: there sure is. the democratic chairwoman, debbie wasserman schultz told our candy crowley that it would be, quote, a dry run for democrats in november. if that's the case, the president is in trouble in

wisconsin and the re-election prospects could be in jeopardy. the results here are far from clear cut when it comes to the presidential race. the energy in scott walker's victory hall was palpable. >> and i continue to be the 45th governor of the great state of wisconsin. >> reporter: they look to harness this passion for the presidential election. >> this messaging is the same as november. should we limit the government spending to what we can afford? yes or no? that's what scott walker did. he led on that issue and that's the same thing barack obama will have to answer to in november. >> reporter: wisconsin has not voted republican in a presidential race since ronald reagan about three decades ago, but thanks to the recall gop officials built an infrastructure in wisconsin bigger than ever before. 25 offices like this are now open with 4 million republican voters identified.

>> typically we would not get up and running in opening offices into march or april. all of these offices have been open in november or december, so we have a five or six-month jump over what we would ordinarily have. >> and right now mitt romney is not even close to having the passion walker has. >> take a look at this. the gop governor won by 53% and the exit polls show wisconsin voters favor president obama over mitt romney. why the contradiction? >> at katie's diner we found some answers. >> wisconsin has a lot of independent voters. >> reporter: you're one of them? >> yes. yes. >> reporter: so-called ticket splitters everywhere. >> i voted for barrett. >> reporter: and who do you plan to vote for in november for president? >> i balloon voting for romney for a purple state.

i'm an independent voter. >> reporter: still the obama campaign, and losing a lieutenant governor said that won't happen now. >> i'm not going down play now that we lost. it does have national ramifications, but it shows that we have to fight that much harder. no doubt this has national ramifications, but it shows that we have a fight ahead of us and we have an uphill battle. >> reporter: now the president's campaign manager already moved the state of wisconsin to toss-up meaning this is a state where they're planning to compete given the elections in the recall last night that it's a no-brainer, but especially true because the rnc chairman reince priebus and he will have a big say on where the resources for the republican party go for november.

>> seven-point lead and at last at this point, five months away and not necessarily all of that impressive because a lot can change in the last few months. the big wenners will be the camp tamp tamp, and locally, i was not so sure and n. >> reporter: they'll have five more months of this. let's dig deeper with our chief political analyst gloria borger. what are the lessons for the democrats and the re-election campaign based on what happened? wisconsin. >> think one of the main messages is that the president and the democrats could have some troubles with blue collar voters particularly in states like wisconsin or a state like ohio, you would think that blue collar voters would be the

natural constituency for the democratic party, but that clearly wasn't the case in wisconsin last night. if you look at the exit polling that we saw last night, was theren't good news for the president here. when we asked the question, would improve the economy? the president had 43% and romney 38%, but neither, 19%, those are probably the independent voters that have not quite decided about who they're going to vote for that dana was talking to in her piece. i think there's a lot of room for growth among mitt romney. barack obama and his organization has to get in there and shore up his support. one way to do it might beaible to say this is my plan for my second term and how i'm going to save my economy in the second term that might appeal to independent voters. many of whom already leak him.

>> one thing i would do is show up and visit wisconsin, when he makes his trip there as opposed a fwraen 0-character tweet. >> i think the one lesson is that that small government message that we first heard from the tea party in the 2010 elections has an awful lot of juice left in it. this wasn't just sort of an antilabor, anti-union message. it was also a message that people in government have it better than people who are not in government, and that is a rallying cry that mitt romney toot continue to talk about when he stalks about smaller government, less spending and portrays obama as a big pending testimony. do it now. i was talking to a couple ofs

with wiss strategies is that there are a dozen states where this could have a real effect. the governor of the state of maine could have some success now. john kasich got overturned in ohio when he tried to do it, but maybe that's because he put police and firemen on the docket. maybe he would take them off and maybe there would be a movement there. in michigan, tea party republicans are already push for example right to work legislation. this could reignite them after what happened in wisconsin last night. so expect republican-controlled state legislatures to start moving the way walker did because they've got to cut their budgets. they're looking for money and they don't to raise taxes. >> mitt romney's opinion a there aringet for the obama campaign. we sent our national political correspondent jima, costa tomas mas to talk to folks who worked

with romney. he ran a state like he would run a business. what are you finding out there, jim? >> reporter: wolf, mitt romney has held out his business experience saying he could create jobs and get the economy moving. here in massachusetts, state lawmakers say romney's ceo style sometimes worked for him and sometimes worked against him. it's one of mitt romney's favorite selling points that as governor of massachusetts he worked with a mostly democratic legislature to tackle his state's problems. >> it did not take a rocket scientist to figure out if i was going do anything as governor. i had to have a working relationship with the democrats. >> down the hall where romney's portrait now hangs in the office, lawmakers don't see it quite that well. >> he was all about policy.

so yea. romney was' a more ceo. and using a staff filled with outside ares from the business world. >> some begrudgingry and he'll adnate and i got the job been, romney made plenty of changes. take the elevators. >> we took over the elevator because he kept it only for his staff and him. >> i'm positive it was always this. >> thises is elevator? >> democratic law makers are miffed that romney blocked off one state elevator specifically for his office something that hadn't been done before. when romney came in he treated

government like the only thing he knew which was big business. >> many people said don't -- good riddance, don't let the door hit it on the way out. >> reporter: that's what they said around here? >> absolutely. >> mark witner with the taxpayers' foundation said romney did set aside that ceo style to pass health care reform, a law so important to his legacy, it's visible in his state portrait, but witmer says other issues like job creation spirited. >> hey, the economy and as job creator and that entire effort, c-minus. >> on the statehouse steps, successor duval patrick says he has his own approach. >> he opened up the elevator and took down the velvet ropes. >> i'm the governor of, for and with the people. so we have a great different style in that respect.

>> out in romney campaign, and as for some of those hard feel, and the romney chongs sthoerz those lying and there are in mas mci who at least have the governor of massachusetts. >> i just got off the phone with the chairman saying he had a fine working relationship with mitt romney and he did try to make some gestures passed when they were both in the statehouse together. wolf, i have to tell you this was a scientific experiment that we embarked on here in boston. we did not announce our arrival and did not call lawmakers ahead of time and say we wanted to

talk about mitt romney and mostly to complain about that elevator, but talk about romney in the statehouse, and if there is a reporter in the room, democrats want to come to you and talk to you about mitt romney. >> thanks very much, jim acosta reporting from boston. he's one of the biggest guns in r president obama's re-election arsenal and now bill clinton is raising eyebrows with surprising remarks. is the former president going rogue, and we'll talk about the presidential campaign, former governor and potential romney running mate, tim pawlenty is standing by live in "the situation room." the apparent hunt for osama bin laden why it may be resulting in more cases of polio. great shot.

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jack cafferty is here with "the cafferty file." >> wolf, as the race for the white house heats up, the candidates are hoping against hopes that star power can help

them raise big bucks and voteser enthusiasm, but republicans are slamming president obama must leak they did in 2008 over hobnobbing with hollywood celebrities. he held a fund-raiser with a theme, barack on broadway, messed up traffic, big time, too. the star-studded event helped the president raise millions for his re-election coffers. on the way to new york, he took jon bon jovi for a ride on air force one. this follows a much-publicized dinner at the home of george clooney where the obama campaign raked in $15 million over dinner. the recent campaign ad featured folks like ricky martin, barbara streisand, spike lee have all appeared at events for president obama. the gop whines about this, saying it proves the president is out of touch with many

americans. in any case, the obama campaign hopes they can find key voting bloc blocks. he has been hanging out in his campaign events with folks like donald trump, kid rock, jon voight and ted nugent. no doubt about it the president has better celebrity, but the point is how much do americans under high unemployment care about what celebrities care about politics? i know i don't. here's the question. do politicians who hang out with celebrities help or hurt themselves? >> go to cnn.com/caffertyfile and post a comment on my blog or post on the facebook page. >> as usual, thanks very much. >> how about bill clinton? is he going rogue? certainly a powerful campaign surrogate for president obama,

but he strayed from the party line when it comes about tax cuts and that seems to be the case. let's bring in our chief white house correspondent jessica yellin. what's going on here? >> one top democrat said he said what everyone's thinking and it doesn't help president obama. former president bill clinton throwing a wrench into the usually controlled obama message machine. topic? extending the bush tax cuts which are set to expire at the end of the year. >> i don't have a problem extending all of it now including the current spending levels. we have to find some way to avoid the specifical sclif and to avoid anything that would contract the economy now and then deal with what's necessary in the reduction plan as soon as they can, which presumably will be after the election. >> the republicans were quick to pounce on the apparent break with president obama's position,

which is no extension for tax cuts for people making more than $200,000 a year or couples making $50,000 a year. >> we don't need to provide additional tax cuts for folks who are doing really, really, well. >> reporter: after a few really, really awkward hours a spokesman for the president clarified his remarks saying former president clinton does not believe the tax cuts for the wealthiest americans should be extended again. in the interview he simply said that he doubted that a long-term agreement on spending cut anies revenues would be reached until after the election. there was silence from the white house until a day later. the press secretary insisted, quote there, is no doubt between president and president obama when it comes to the need it to extend tax cuts for the americans and do not extend tax

cuts for those under $50,00037 former president clinton said -- the u.s. is in a recovery. the clinton clarification suggests he misspoke because in the same interview he also said the u.s. economy is expanding. >> what i think they should do is to find a way to keep the expansion going. >> reporter: was all this accidental? >> now channeling gilda radner and presumably following president obama's campaign team, president clinton tell us us never mind. but president clinton knew what he was saying. >> so was there a dressing down? no, but president obama's staff did speak with president clinton's staff and i am told by top democrats tare managing bad jobs numbers, tackling the fight over the bush tax cuts is not what they want to be doing right

now, wolf. >> certainly not what they wanted. thanks very much, jessica, for that report. don't miss my one-on-one interview with the former president bill clinton. that's tomorrow right here in "the situation room." make sure, you can still send you your suggested questions on twitter at wolfblitzer.com or i'll be at the new york stock exchange anchoring our dprofrj there tomorrow. >> tim pawlenty, you're seeing him and he's being vetted as a possible romney rung maning matd can he deliver his home state of minnesota for the gop? whether or not he's on the ticket and we'll talk about that and a whole lot more. stand by.

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i have my own personal short list of potential romney rubbing ma running mates and over the next few weeks i'll invite them into "the situation room." today's guest is tim pawlenty, former two-term governor of minnesota and edged out by sarah palin. for a while pawlenty was, himself, a republican presidential candidate and now he's a national co-chairman of the romney campaign and he's seen, at least by me, as a strong v.p. slot. thank you for coming in. >> good to be with you on "the situation room." got's go through national security issues right now. david sanger of "the new york times" has a new book and he was here in "the situation room" yesterday. all of this business about the president being very tough, killing terrorists, going after

iran, for example, and its nuclear program with cyber warfare. will president romney, in your opinion, continue that tough strategy? >> well, and then some, wolf. if you look at what mitt romney has said about president obama presiding over national security and defense posture and his drone strikes and killing osama bin laden are tough. you have the -- >> what else would romney do that obama's not doing? >> maintain and increase the defense spending. make sure our navy is growing and not shrinking. when you have the previous president ask the czech republic in poland to host missile defense systems you don't pull the rug out from beneath them after they committed to do it. don't negotiate a treat with russia to have robust missile defense system which we obviously need and make sure we

don't have sequestration and gut our american military. those are just some of the things that this president is doing. don't stick your thumb in the ally of israel. >> as far as the covert war that the president has authorized personally and has now been pretty well documented in these books coming out and newspaper articles. a romney presidency would have no problem continuing those. >> romney would be tougher on those measures and more. one thing that's happened in the last 24 and 48 hours is increasing concerns and allegations that the white house and people connected to the white house are intentionally leaking this kind of information to show the president's tough, perhaps for political game. the they're allegations at this point, but if any of that is true, it is a very charge and serious circumstance. >> we'll have senator dianne feinstein, the chair of the intelligence committee. she's here in the next hour and we'll talk about that concern.

let's talk about taxes and the economic policy right now. remember vividly? you were at that debate and you raised your hand when the moderator asked if all of the republican presidential candidate would support $10 in spending cuts and only one dollar in potential tax increases and you said no. all of you said no. jon huntsman said since then it was a mistake. you would accept $10 in federal spending cuts for $1 of increased taxes for rich people? >> i would stand by that for this reason. if you're asking are the revenues coming into the government growing fast enough? absolutely. you have to ask to do what? to accomplish what end? to accomplish what goal and most of the answer is so we can keep things the way they are. the answer isn't bring in more revenue so we can keep current. >> so you wouldn't -- you still think that was a great idea?

>> we have to draw a line in the sand. >> it looks like you're not ready to compromise at all. you were in a governor that's leakly democratic and you had a compromise in order to do the people's business. >> we had a state for 40 years and had 21% increase in spending for 40 years. i brought that down under 2% per year during my time as governor. the lowest increase in spending -- >> you did compromise. >> i'm not proud of that, but i'm telling you, there are some points in time when you saw in wisconsin, where you need strong leaders with strong principles. >> compromise is not a deirty word as far as you're concerned. >> no, but it has to be done with right principles and to sustain the current broken system is not the way to go. >> do you want to be vice president of the united states?

>> i've told many people i think i can help governor romney best in other ways and i'm trying to be spokesperson on his behalf. i've had the chance to be in public service, and i enjoy it. anybody who were asked to do that would be honored and it will be a great list. >> have they already asked you to present your income tax returns? are they vetting you already? >> i'm the co-chair of romney's campaign for president and we have a policy not to talk about me or anyone else, the vp selection process. >> i've heard you're on the short list. >> you're hardly ever right, wolf. >> so am i wrong? >> we don't talk about the process in terms of who's involved, the timing and the circumstance. >> are you a national co-chair or the national co-chair? >> i'm a national co-chair. >> are you involved in helping him with the process? >> my role is in shows and

speeches and policy development and i haven't been involved in the v.p. process and procedures surrounding that as an insider. >> because you were close in four years and you were first runner-up to sarah palin as you remember. >> you were asking about marco rubio or chris christie or anyone else, my answer would be the same. we don't talk about the procedures, time and process around the r.p. i think i can help best in other ways, but anybody if asked would be honored. i assume you're ready to do, if you were asked. >> i'm not getting to that point, wolf. i'm just saying i think i can help best in other ways. >> good luck. thanks for coming in. >> thanks for having me. did president obama make a mistake by not showing up in the recall battle? we're taking a closer look at the fallout in november and that's coming up in our strategy session. how it's actually being hurt by the u.s. raid on the bin laden

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let's get right to our "strategy session." joining us is the democratic strategist maria cardona along with republican strategist alice stewart. our friend and colleague paul begala was on cnn last night and was asked whether or not the president should have gone to wisconsin to help his fellow democrats and to help his union organizers and listen to paul begala. >> he owed it to tom barrett. barrett was mayor of milwaukee and came out and endorsed then senator obama against then senator clinton and he owes it to himself and everybody else he will have to deal with. this was a mistake. i don't think it would have made the difference. let me be clear about that. >> a lot of people think it was a mistake because these are folks, the organized union

leaders who helped bring them to the white house and then he abandoned them. he sent out a tweet. >> i do agree with paul in his second point whether that would have made the difference. >> he should have done it. it was the right thing to do. >> if he would have come, would it have helped the fact that scott walker was outspending barrett by more than 10 to 1? would it have upon hadded that it was a bruising primary for the democrats? i think it helped to show what happened last night? i don't think so. did he owe it to them? probably, but then if he had gone and he would have lost, today your question would it have been was it a question that president obama went. >> the tweet is not what it goes. the turnout that we had was so overwhelmi overwhelming. the problem is the president will have is to go back to get help from union leaders in wisconsin. they'll have a hard time.

>> why didn't he show up? >> right at this point it was a situation that was involving wisconsin in the overwhelming support for what governor walker did. the union his a problem with it. he campaigned on promises to reform government and he succeeded, much to the dismay of the unions. >> wisconsin after what happened yesterday is in play in november. >> i think there's no question about that, wolf, and we should look at the exit polls and president obama is still in the lead, but absolutely, are democrats going have to work much harder that he stays in the lead? yes. do republicans believe they are energized and mobilized? yes. i also believe that last night will help to mobilize democrats? >> i don't think those exit polls show a much closer race. >> i think that democrats will be mobilized because the labor union was -- i did want to point

in when scott walker spoke last night he conceded the way he went forward with his reforms was a mistake and he basically said had he brought people to the table and he might not have gone through the recall. >> first, it's very important to note that a gop candidate had not one since 1984 and there is's huge democratic base in wisconsin and he's galvanized the democrats, it's certainly galvanized republicans and governor walker would have done differently is explore what would he didn't do. he had a $billion deaf set and he now has a $fen 4 million surplus and what he's done with collective bargaining and given people a choice and whether or not they want to be part of a

union and he saved the state a tremendous amount of money. his promises that he made in campaigning worked. he went out of his way to say you know what happened over the past 18 months? it's over and now let's all sit down and work together and do what's best. >> what she said is what he should have done from the very beginning. let's hope everybody looks at it and goes forward. >> thanks very much. >> a spike in a crippling disease in pakistan happening right now. apparently it's time for the u.s. mission to kill bin laden. we'll have details of the surprising connection. this is a story you will see only here on cnn.

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we're learning about someone who attended a surprising fallout from the u.s.-led search for osama bin laden who was killed by navy s.e.a.l.s more than a year ago. it is leading to an increase in polio cases in pakistan.

cnn's reza sayah is there to explain. >> reporter: it is a huge success, but health officials here in pakistan and aid groups in the u.s. say the operation harmed a critical campaign to save thousands of children from a crippling disease. this is 17-month-old akrob who will never walk on her own. doctors say she'll spend the rest her life paralyzed, a victim of polio. >> when the other kids play she cries because she wants to play with them, but she can't even move, her mother says and here's what makes this tragedy worse. doctors say she could have lived a normal, healthy life if someone would have given her a polio vaccine that cost less than a dollar soon after she was born. one of the worst black parks on pakistan is that it has still to

eradicate tol polio. the other two countries, afghanistan and nigeria. last year the unreported 198 polio cases in pakistan. 30% of the world's cases were here. this week aid groups and local health officials making another push to reduce the numbers, going door to door offering free vaccines. in recent years they made progress, they say, vaccinating millions and then came the raid on the bin laden compound and reports that pakistani doctor afridi was part of a botched campaign. the scheme didn't work. the doctor went to jail accused of spying for the u.s. the media, chasing after any story linked to osama bin laden reported on the doctor's alleged links with the cia. but here's what didn't make many

headlines. health officials say all of those bin laden reports hurt the polio campaign. many pakistanis here, deeply conservatives and already suspicious of strangers coming into their home now thought the vaccination cam cam wcampaign ws part of a spy plot. the u.s. pays for these campaigns to destroy muslims and make them slaves, he told us. >> that incident of dr. afridi hurt the rest of the community. >> reporter: health officials here say thousands of pakistani families have yet to vaccinate their children without good reason, but with help of religious leaders they're making progress convincing more families that a free vaccine can save them a lifetime of pain, children like ikra and her

family. we've left her in god's hands. >> 200 aid groups were concerned about the plot, concerned about the cia that they wrote general david petraeus, the head of the cia to complain that washington's position remains the same saying the operation was worth it because in the end they got osama bin laden. wolf? >> reza sayah thanks very much for that report. did someone hack into mitt romney's private e-mail account? the secret service is scrambling. we'll have the details. purina one discovered that by blending enhanced botanical oils into our food, we can help brighten an old dog's mind so he's up to his old tricks. with this kind of thinking going into our food, imagine all the goodness that can come out of it. just one way we're making the world a bett place. one p at a me. vibrant maturity. from purina one smartblend.

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>> the nasdaq says it would pay $40 million for losses they suffered from trading riches during facebook's initial public

offering. the firm seay says their losses were closser to $40 million. how did it become such a success? >> if he knew the morning how bad things would be, he would have stopped the ipo and not have it gone forward. there's a lot of mea culpa action coming out of the nasdaq. just to give you perspective, when you look at the size of the facebook ipo. $16 billion was the share of the market. that's the biggest that the nasdaq has ever had to handle. it was unprecedented territory for them. the bottom line is they weren't ready electronically and now the question is who's going to hold the bag? >> there are four firms and there could be $140 million and some sources close to those firms could be as high as $120 million. the nasdaq is only offering 40. it is unclear whether they'll be able to work that out and

whether they'll agree and there is a moral hazard in this, wolf. the nasdaq made mistakes and they need to be liable for those mistakes. if they end up paying the full amount to the firm that lost money it could set a press debt that may not be a great one for the market and they'll go ahead and make it good. so this isn't quite as simple as it may seem to some watching, but there is no doubt the nasdaq made a big mistake on the nasdaq ipo, but that is one of many mistakes on the facebook ipo. >> it's a story that we'll continue to cover. you'll be covering it at 7:00 p.m. eastern as well. >> good to see you, wolf. >> jack is back with "the cafferty file." jack? >> the question this hour, do politicians who hang out with the celebrities help or hurt themselves? >> i've seen your interview about the interviews there and

not the five minutes but if thaw start hanging out with the kardashians and the real housewives then they should have sarah palin read to them. i don't know what that means, i just thought it was funny. the prestige of the office of the united states means being above other people. hanging out with celebrities means they're sharing their prestige. it doesn't hurt and it doesn't help. besides, they all do it. some of them sneak around while others are open about it. bob in ohio say the politicians can help themselves by hanging out with only a select few of celebrities. >> here's a foo few on the list. if there was campaign finance reform both of them would be hanging out with the voters instead and larry writes from

texas, if donald trump is the best that romney can do, then how can we expect him to lead us to better things? if you want to read more on this, go to the blog cnn.com/caffertyfile or to the situation room's facebook page. >> thank you. bipartisan outrage in congress over classified information leaks. is the white house responsible? democratic senator dianne feinste feinstein, the chair of the committee is angry and she's standing by live and we'll talk to her in the next hour. and they're stealing millions of user passwords. as a culinary manager i make sure our guests

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a banner day on wall street. lisa sylvester is monitoring that and other top stories in "the situation room." >> hi, wolf. everyone loves good news. the dow and s&p posted their biggest gains of the year with investors encouraged by hints of more stimulus in the u.s. and eurozone. all indexes gained more than 2%. the dow is up 287 points, putting it back in positive territory for the year and the s&p rose 30 points. the nasdaq added 67%s. a drug smuggling ring out of puerto rico's main airport. police raided the san juan facility. federal indictments accused 45 people accused of funneling cocaine through the facility any on to the u.s. mainland. business social networking site linkedin confirming reports that hackers have stolen 6.5

million passwords. the company won't give details of how the passwords were stolen, but says it's continuing to investigate the matter. and science fiction writer, ray bradbury has died after a lengthy illness. his books include the iconic "fahrenheit 451" and he predicted atms to live television car chases. he said i started writing every day and never stopped. ray bradbury was 91. >> thanks very much, lisa. and you're in "the situation room." happening now, an fbi investigation and bipartisan demands for answers over allegations the white house leaked classified information for political points. just ahead i'll ask the chair senator dianne feinstein why she says american lives are now at risk. also exclusive cnn video

from the front lines of combat in syria's sniper alley where they're taking on an army of government fighters. and abraham lincoln cold from the knees down in the moments after he was shot. just ahead, the shocking never before seen account from the doctor who tried to save his life. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com grossly irresponsible. that's what the white house is calling growing accusations the white house intentionally leaked classified information to score political points. the alleged leaks have ignited a firestorm here in washington with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle calling for hearings and the fbi now launching a

formal investigation. let's get straight to our white house correspondent brianna keilar. she's here in "the situation room." the story is escalating. >> it is. there have been a spate of stories that have appeared in the media over the last several weeks that include classified information and these are stories that really make president obama look, i guess you could say, proactive when it comes to national security. the white house, i talked to one administration official who said these kind of leaks drive them crazy and there is now bipartisan concern over the disclosures. >> early may, reports of the u.s. thwarting a plot in yemen to build an undetectable airplane bomb. last week a "new york times" story over the close oversieft a terrorist kill list and how he ordered an aggressive cyber attack that slowed development of iran's nuclear program. senator john mccain is now accusing the white house of

purposely leaking classified information for political gain. >> they cite leaked classified or highly sensitive information in what appears to be a broader administration effort to paint a portrait of the president of the united states as a strong leader on national security issues. the release of this information in these articles harms our national security and puts in danger the lives of the men and women who are sworn to protect it. >> reporter: white house officials vehemently deny the charge. press secretary jay carney said wednesday any suggestion that this administration has authorized intentional leaks of classified information for political gain is grossly irresponsible. president obama's national security successes like killing osama bin laden and taking out a number of other al qaeda leaders are a political asset in an election year. republicans are, no doubt,

trying to tarnish those accomplishments, but concerns about the leaks are bipartisan. dianne feinstein, the democratic chair of the intelligence committee says she was, quote, deeply disturbed of the leaks to the media. economy carl levin are discussing a joint hearing into the leaks. and the fbi is investigating this as well. two republican senators, senator mccain as well as saxby chambliss are calling for special council to investigate it, wolf. the white house has made a big deal on clamping down in the past on somely, but at least on these they're silent in terms of talking about how they'll cooperate with an investigation on these hearings. >> some of these details are almost breathtaking when i've been reading them in some books coming out. very impressive reporting and it really detailed classified

information. brianna, thanks very much for that report. let's dig deeper on intelligence. the democratic senator from california, dianne feinstein. senator, thanks very much for coming in. are you can senator mccain when it comes the president to issue a special council to investigate these leaks? >> well, we're going to take our own action. the intelligence committee is meeting tomorrow morning with general clapper and this is the appointment of a special council. i am waiting for some information that i've asked for before i make a decision. >> so you're not ready to go as far as senator mccain and senator saxby chambliss because a special council would be pay good deal. once that door opens you never know where it's going to close. is that your concern? >> well, and it can go on for five years.

i mean, we don't know. i have some other thoughts and i don't want to discuss them here. i'll discuss them with the commity tomorrow morning. i think what we're seeing, wolf, an avalanche of leaks and it is very, very disturbing. it's dismayed our allies and puts american lives in jeopardy and puts our nation's security in jeopardy, and if you look at terrorism, intelligence is fundamental to knowing what's going to happen and prevent it from happening in the first place. so i think the fbi should continue its investigation. we're going do ours -- i think our armed services has announced an investigation. i think this should take place. >> so will there be joint hearings between the senate intelligence committee and the senate armed services committee? are you in favor of that? >> i am in favor of it. i suggested this to senator

levin, the chairman, last evening and it's up to him. so we will see what comes of that. >> when you said in your statement, and i frommed carefully, a joint statement with your republican colleagues in the senate and in the house of the representatives on the house intelligence committee, you just repeated it. explain how on these particular instances american lives are now at risk as a result of what was published. >> well, i'll tell you because people don't know the whole story and they inadvertently release something that appears to be harmless, that in their judgment is harmless or puts them in the know and you can piece it together and figure out where the individual is or who the individual is or where the

individual works. >> therefore people say we don't want to give information to the united states. they're not going protect us. they're not going to help us and this is beginning to happen now. so people are placed in danger and american lives are lost because of it, and people just talk too much. this didn't used to be the case, but sut suddenly it's like it's a spreadable disease. it's just happening. another thing are books that are written. people that live their life serving in an intelligence capacity that then get and write a book and release all kind of things. >> i guess the question is, and you don't have to go into specific detail, i would assume they would be classified, but do you know of a specific incident -- incident where someone's life has been threatened or in danger, an actual incident as a result of these leaks? >> yes. i can tell you where lives have

been in danger. >> has anyone been killed as a result? >> not to my knowledge. >> do you want to go into specifics? >> no, i do not. >> you don't have to. >> i'm not going to. >> i suspect it's confidential information. it looks with the republicans at least, are accusing the white house and the obama administration of deliberately leaking some of this information to score political points in the re-election campaign. i assume you're not willing to go that far. >> that's correct. i don't believe any of this came directly out of the top ranks of the white house. i think one of the problems is information is not close low held sufficiently. point two, we had a hearing yesterday, what came out of that hearing to me is that a lot of the policies with respect to leaks are archaic. they need to be revamped.

we will talk about that tomorrow. we are preparing an intelligence authorize aith bill. i met last evening with mike rogers, the chairman of the committee and we are prepared to put into law to the leaks and preventing these leaks. >> if there is special council and prosecution, should the individuals who leaked the information, in other words, government employees, government officials, should they be prosecuted or i assume the answer would be yes? what about the journalists and the news organizations who publish this information? >> this is's big problem what because what you have are sophisticated journalists. david sanger is one of the best. he came into my office. he saw me and we worked together at the aspen strategy institute

and what he was publishing he had worked out with various agencies and he didn't believe that anything was revealed that wasn't known already. well, i read the new york times article and my heart dropped because he wove a tapestry that has an impact that's beyond any single, one thing and he's very good at what he does and she spent figuring it all out. we have a problem, and they get a consultancy, because inadvertently about information that have to take a look at all of this. we have to take a look at the oath of nondisclosure that people take. we have to strengthen that.

we have to strengthen the investigation within the departments. i think the processes are sloppy. i think they're haphazard. i think they need tightening and we've received testimony to that effect and we're going to be discussing it and i hope taking vigorous action in the house commity and the authorization bill. >> we're out of time, but i have to follow up. are you saying you're not ruling out the possibility like david sanger of "the new york times" who was here in "the situation room" that they should be prosecuted as a result of the classified information they released? >> don't put words in my mouth. >> i want to clarify that. >> i'm not saying that. i said this is an issue that we need to deal with and that is the fact that we have an enormously smart constituency of journalists who follow this, who piece things together, who get

one more piece somewhere and a second piece some place and a third and a fourth and put it all together and this is what we've got to now begin to pay some attention to because it's going result in the inability of the united states to be able to have an intelligence profile and an intelligence apparatus that is able to protect this country. >> i have to tell you, i've been hearing these allegations for 30-plus years that i've been in washington, going back to frank church on the senate int intelligence committee and yes, but business continues. i'm not denying that some of these leaks deny major, major problems, but this is not a new

fen om nom and i've heard them for plane, many years. >> i've been on the intelligence come they for 11 years and i've never seen it worse, i can tell you that. >> thank you for being here on this issue. >> thank you. >> the alleged white house leaks, i'll discuss tomorrow with the former president of the united states bill clinton who is here in "the situation room." you can send me your suggestions on twitter or "the situation room's" facebook page. now the secret service is on the case. we'll have details on how the suspect may have gotten so close to the man battling to become the top president of the united states. >> one of the top experts and peter bergen is standing by to join us.

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jack cafferty is here with "the cafferty file." jack? >> wolf, the polarization of america is like a cancer that's slowly killing us and like many forms of cancer, there appears to be no cure. we are more divided now than any time in the last 25 years according to a study by the pew folks. it's not the usual suspect, income, gender, political. it's political differences that are ripping this country apart. the political divide has peaked during the last decade during the precedences of both george w. bush and barack obama. the pugh survey finds democrats and republicans are most divided on the social safety net for the poor with a stunning 41-point gap between the two parties. other issues with big divisions

include the environment, labor unions and government scope and performance. the deepening polarization is something we see among voters and of course, among our so-called leaders in wash wingt. the government is polarized and unable to address the people's business that desperately needs doing. perhaps the most serious consequence of partisanship is the skyrocketing national debt now closing in on $16 trillion. we'll never pay it off. the congressional budget office says unless congress does something about fed spending and/or taxes, it will double and it will reach twice the size of the entire u.s. economy by 2037. we are committing economic suicide, but don't expect washington to do anything about it because, you see, there's an election in november. here's the question. what can be done about the deepening polarization in

america? go to cnn.com caffertyfile and post a comment on my blog or go to our post on "the situation room's" facebook page. dire straits. >> yes. thank you. violence in afghanistan leaving dozens dead after a serious of attacks across the country. 22 people were killed and another 50 injured after a suicide bomb blast targeted a market, anda the least 18 were killed in a nato air strike and now the united states believes militants shot down one of its helicopters killing two crew members onboard. barbara starr is at the pentagon and watching all of this. what's the latest, barbara? >> sad news for two u.s. military families, indeed. the u.s. says it believes that helicopter shot down in southeastern afghanistan where there has been some level of combat in recent months as they tried to clear out insurgent strong holds.

this was a warrior, what does that helicopter do? it's very dangerous. small and light, it flies very fast. only two crew onboard and it scout ahead for enemy targets and it's like an old-fashioned army scout and goes ahead and marks the targets and helps to pass that information along to u.s. troops. they do believe it was brought down by small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades and this is now the sixth helicopter that the nato alliance has lost in the beginning of the war either by shootdowns or accidents and forced landings in bad weather. there could be a troop withdrawal and very physical families and military troops. >> they'll be in afghanistan at least another two and a half years until the end of 2014.

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a controversial cigarette tax is too close to call. lisa sylvester is monitoring that and other top stories in "the situation room" right now. what do you have, lisa? >> we have an update from cnn's dr. sanjay gupta. californians took to the polls

to vote on prop 129. the tax would raise about $735 million a year with 3.9 million votes cast the no votes are ahead. a letter from jerry sandusky to one of his alleged victims is to be used at the trial. the defense is expected to show the letters are innocent and show the love for the children in his charity. he is charged with child rape. a jury of seven women and five men were seated today. dramatic images of the space shuttle "enterprise" to its new home at the sea, air and space museum in manhattan. it made a three-day sea trek that included a layover in new jersey. you can see some of the pictures there. pictures by a barge and also by

a crane. it was hoisted up by that crane. it did hit on a snag. you see live pictures there, and it did hit a snag on its way home. a sudden gust of wind caused the shuttle to shift and scrape against a barrier. fortunately, the damage was only cosmetic and you can see it's hovering there by the crane, but it is at its new home. miss pennsylvania usa is giving up the title saying the me miss usa pageant is rigged. the miss universe organization was quick to response saying monnin is saying false accusations. organizers cited an e-mail sent by monnin in which she says she decided to step down because of the decision by miss universe to include transgendered contestants. donald trump who runs the miss universe group has stletenned

legal action. wolf? >> thanks, lisa. the number two man in al qaeda is killed. our own analyst, though, peter bergen says al qaeda now is, quote, more or less out of business and i'll press him on what he means by that. and cnn has exclusive video of a deadly battle in syria. it's a rare look from the front lines. our own arwa damon is standing by to report. look at the car! my dad's gonna kill me dude... [ male announcer ] the security of a 2012 iihs top safety pick. the volkswagen passat. that's the power of german engineering.

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violence in afghanistan comes just after the u.s. killing of al qaeda's number two leader abu yahya al libi in a drone strike along the border of pakistan. it's a blow that peter bergen, one of the top al qaeda experts now essentially puts the terror network, and i'm quoting him now, out of business. peter's the author of "man

hunt." the best searle of the ten-year search for bin laden. i read your piece. an excellent article on cnn.com and you say that as a result of al libi's killing, death, the al qaeda operation, the terrorist group that launched 9/11 is now more or less out of business. explain. >> yea, i think it kind of underlined the fact. this has been going on for a long time e e drone strike programs with george w. bush in the last six months of his presidency and president obama amped it up considerably. most of the al qaeda leaders have been killed and this guy was the last who was involved in al qaeda. they haven't been able to attack the u.s. since 9/11 over a decade and the last attack were the attacks in london in 2005. it's a record of failure, wolf, and a lot of losses on that side. >> so the al qaeda operation as we knew it in afghanistan and

pakistan, you think for all practical purposes is dead, but what about al qaeda in yemen and somalia, these so-called lone wolfs and these guys that aren inspiring individuals around the world? >> we saw the fort hood attack in texas. >> that was al qaeda inspired? >> al qaeda-inspired in this country. it's obviously not 9/11 and something that -- national security. al qaeda in yemen is a problem, but every time they try to attack the united states, their attack is fizzled whether it's a flight and the attempt to send bombs on cargo planes to the united states in 2010. we talked here last month about a new underwear bomb they developed. the reason we know about it is because a spy was inserted in the group and basically landed

it over to the cia or fbi. it's been a record of failure. >> i just interviewed dianne feinstein and she's very worried, democrats and republicans about these looks of classified situation. listen to what she told me. >> we have an enormously smart constituency of journalists who follow this, who piece things together, who get one little piece somewhere and a second little piece from another place and a third and a fourth and put it all together and this is what we've got to now be goin pinn t some attention to because it will result in the inablet of the united states to be able to have an intelligence profile, an intelligence apparatus that is able to protect this country. >> and she goes on and says

american lives are at risk as a result of these leaks and you have a new book out with a lot of sensitive information and what do you think when you hear these complaints? >> senator feinstein described accurately what journalists do, which is piece together from many different sources and hopefully create an accurate picture and the fact that journalists are doing their jobs and finding out things and i'm not going to sit here and be critical of that. that's why we have a first amendment and that's part of the fabric of our country. obviously, there are things you have to balance against it, but it seems to me that david sanger, for instance, had a huge group and solved the very interesting question which is who has the viruses at the iranian nuclear program and he's done it in a convincing way. >> when you release that information codenamed olympic

games with the cyber warfare intelligence communities. do you believe that does do damage to the u.s. intelligence operations? >> the iranians certainly knew that something was happening in the uranium enrichment plot and they're not stupid and they concluded that it wasn't a virus and they said it themselves. i'm skeptical of the notion that it's putting americans' lives at risk, but they understood they were under cyber attack already. >> i've been hearing these complaints for decades myself and there are obviously certain times there are problems that do emerge. peter, thanks very much for joining us. we're also getting new information on syria right now just coming into cnn about another massacre. we'll have the details coming up next and also, we have exclusive dramatic video from the front lines of a rebel fire fight.

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is. this just coming in to "the situation room." reports ofarcer in syria. 78 people have been killed, at least half of them women and children. syrian government forces are said to have raided a small farming village and executed people with knives and ak-47s.

arwa damon has an exclusive look at the front lines of the bloody battle in homs where a handful of rebels are now taking on an army. >> reporter: wolf, at this exclusive footage portrays a microcosm of what is happening along many front lines in sinnia and an example of why the cease-fire isn't working. abu peers out from his makeshift battle position and spots his target. give me the radio. give me the radio, he calls out after a hail of bullets drowns out his voice. >> there it is. there it is, someone shouts! as the armored personnel carrier moves back into sight, a voice cries out.

look, kofi annan, mocking the idea of a cease-fire. these rebels say they are protecting residents of a homs neighborhood from an assault by regime forces. cairo's street is now the front line, separating the rebel strong hold from the neighborhood of albayaba held by the government. once a bustling middle class shopping area, the street is now in ruins. the local rebel commander climbs through holes smashed in buildings to take up position. >> there are government forces in a balcony down the road. the 32-year-old peers out the scope. affirmative. it seems deserted, but the fighters of the free syrian army say it's not about defending

syrians still here, but the property of those that have fled. they say they steal or destroyed anything they can get their hands on. >> at another position along the street he is on high a letter. there's movement, be ready at my signal, he says calmly. syrian government forces are fanning out across the board. there's more direction, on the radio the caller warns. i am ready, he responds. he fires out two rounds and takes aim again and his weapon jams. cursing under his breath, he clears it and aims again. >> you can't have a one-sided cease-fire, he says indignantly. they can't expect us to come under fire and not respond. some of these men are army

detector, but awe growing number of civilians are joining the struggle. he used to attend protest, but that all change. >> a brother defected from the army because he refused orders to kill innocent civilians and demonstrators, he says. his brother was killed defending this very neighborhood last year. this is his gun, abu says, gesturing to his ak-47, but it's hardly a match for the heavy weapons that government forces have. many like him say they will fight to the bitter end. even if it means the uprising becomes a civil war. >> and the tragedy of it all, wolf, means that may be the inevitable outcome as cease-fires, police plans and diplomac

diplomacy. a detailed account of abraham lincoln's final moments from a doctor who tried to save his life. it may never have been seen before, this report, until now. [ duck yelling ] [ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. ♪ ha ha! ♪ welcome to hotels.com. summer road trip, huh? as the hotel experts, finding you the perfect place is all we do. this summer, save up to 30%, plus get up to $100 on us. welcome to hotels.com.

an incredible discovery made here in washington. historians have found a medical report detailing the final moments of president abraham lincoln's life and they believe it's been stashed away for almost 150 years. cnn's brian todd has read the report. he went over to forbes theater here in washington and has the fascinating details. >> reporter: this report was lost for a long time in the box of the national archives until just recently. it's a firsthand account of the crucial minutes after lincoln was shot. it's handwritten, straightforward and stirring. >> reporter: he was 23 years old, embarking on a promising career and attending a happening event in washington. dr. charles leal also sat on the brink of history. >> he hadn't been out of medical school for very long at all, and this was certainly thrown in at the deep end. >> a researcher for the group

papers of abraham lincoln has made an outstanding discovery on the report at what he went through to be the first doctor to get to president lincoln after he was shot. dr. leal was in an ideal position to try to help. he writes that at the time of the shooting he was sitting in the balcony area with the tourists are about there, only 40 feet away from lincoln's box. >> the fatal shot was fired. a man of low stature with black hair and eyes was seen leap beneath. >> when the door was opened and he saw mary lincoln, leal wrote, she exclaimed several time, oh, doctor, do what you can for him. do what you can. leal wrote he sent one man to get water and another man to get brandy. he thought he'd been stabbed

because he saw john wilkes booth, and lincoln's condition was such he knew he would never make it to the white house. the only alternative, takealter across the street to the peterson house. >> at that moment, an account that strikes the cord. >> his knees down were cold. they brought hot water bottles and hot blankets. a very touching part. >> then, they finally bring lincoln into this room in the peterson house across the street. what happens then? >> they bring him in here and the bed is too small for him. he is a very large guy. he was 6'4". so to make him more comfortable, instead of having him hanging off the bed, they laid him diagonally across the bed. he writes of that. he wrote clinically of the president's deterioration and he breathed his last.

>> the very last line, he seems to be absorbed as to what happened. immediately after his death, we all bowed and the reverend sum kated on behalf of the family. >> let's go back to jack for the cafferty file. >> interesting stuff. the question this hour is what can be done about the deepening polarization in america? >> it starts with the people taking an honest look at how they voted and how that stacks up against what this he really believed. the politicians participated in thousands of lost lives, liberties and treasure because offer our country's post 911 policies. they participated in the unloimt and the mountains of debt left by our economic policies. the worst part is, they won't stop because they keep getting elected, because we keep voting for them. if any sort of change is to take place, it has to start with us. stan writes, with 24/7 news

cycles, modern media fuel this divisiveness. it is not news worthy if we all get along as we americans mostly do. no street rioting. except for the fringes, there is a live and let live attitude in the united states. paul in ontario writes, two-party systems inevitably lead to polarization. the canadian parliament contains five different parties. so there is a lot of wheeling and dealing and cooperation. bill in new mexico writes, very little. i believe the polarization will worsen as america's economic health decays. short of government failure, there is no end inside. evinia writes this, with fox news, the rush limbaughs, sarah palins, and political bun dits fanning the flames of divisiveness, hatred and bigotry, the divide is only deepening. there is nothing anyone can say or do.

if you want to read more, go to the blog, cnn.com/cafferty file or through our post on "the situation room's" facebook page. >> it is depressing when you think about it. if you need a spare tire, don't panic. chances are one will come rolling by in no time of its all. we have the story of tires going roeg. all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting wildlife. america's natural gas... domestic, abundant, clean energy to power our lives... that's smarter power today.

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a tire flies off an 18-wheeler and crashes into a refreshment stand inside a room at a ramah da inn. that's not the only time a tire has gone rogue. cnn's jeanne moos has the video to prove it. >> reporter: we never tire of watching runaway cars whether it be a bus tire on the loose or a car tire that almost takes out a guy who belate edly runs for his life after the tire shalt terred a window and bounced around a computer repair shop. this truck driver's lost tire. >> they blow. >> reporter: it blew? >> puts the freak in freak accident. william harvey lost his tire on interstate 75 in ocala, florida. the tire went off the overpass on to another highway below smashing this car, the driver was badly shaken up but escaped major injuries. the escaped tire kept rolling to the nearby ramada inn where it

barged in a partially open door to a conference room where bob hurst was just heading to the refreshment table for some cookies. >> one of the members said, look out. right at that point, something large and black came right by my sid, scratched against my leg, messed up my pants. >> refreshments were pretty much obliterated, in the immortal words of tire review, runaway tire checks into a hotel conference room. >> good morning, thank you for calling ram achl da room. >> reporter: could i make a reservation for a runaway truck tire. it was i asteamy stay. >> it flipped over was smoking like crazy. >> reporter: if you want to know what a smoking hot tire looks like, check out the one that came bouncing into a car dealership and crashed into a parked car. this women at an appliance car in las vegas had a close encounter with a tire gone wild. imagine you are trying to change a tire when a run why way tire

comes whizzing by. that's what happened on this bridge as a motorist changed a flat. a 200-pound wheel almost took out the officer. it scuffed his gun, ripped his holster. but the sergeant was unharmed. it is as if tires are out to get us. the serial killer tire in the cult comedy tire, rubber. it kills people with its psychic powers so tread carefully. >> help. >> reporter: jeanne moos, c in. n. don't forget, tomorrow, my special one-on-one interview with the former president of the united states, bill clinton, right here in "the situation room." i will be going to chicago to the clinton global initiative to interview the president tomorrow here in the situation room. the form ir president er presid united states, bill clinton.

you can send me your suggested questions on twitter or go to our cnn facebook page. the news continues next on cnn good evening. i'm john king. tonight, an urgent hunt for whoever is leaking some of the country's most sensitive secrets about u.s. drone strikes and cyberattacks. the head of the senate intelligence committee tells us those leaks are reporting lives in danger. today's fallout from last night's wisconsin fight. important lessons. on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, the shuttle is for everyone to see. we start with the growing clamor to find and stop whoever is leaking classified national security secrets. the leaks are the source